Louisville football | For Cards' Dez Fitzpatrick, breakout was a relief – and confirmation

Redshirt freshman receiver Dez Fitzpatrick caught four passes for 95 yards and a touchdown in his first game with the Cards.

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UofL wide receiver Desmond Fitzpatrick was happy to be on the scene at Norton Children's Hospital for a day of community service by the football team. 4/6/17(Photo: Marty Pearl/Special to The C-J)Buy Photo

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He saw the Cards call it earlier in their 35-28 win over Purdue last Saturday, and his son, redshirt freshman receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, was open each time, but the ball didn't come his way.

Then it finally happened. With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter and Louisville down three points, Fitzpatrick lined up in the slot to the right of reigning Heisman Trophy quarterback Lamar Jackson. As Jackson faked a handoff to Reggie Bonnafon, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Fitzpatrick planted his right foot and shook off a Purdue defensive back and took off toward the end zone.

Jackson's throw was perfect, right in Fitzpatrick's stride, and the 19-year-old Michigan native made a two-handed touchdown grab just as two other Purdue defenders arrived. It was his third of four catches in the game, and it was the score that put U of L ahead for good.

It was also the moment that Fitzpatrick, his parents, his siblings, his grandmas and his friends had all been waiting for the past 15 months. It was the culmination of Fitzpatrick's hard work through a trying period of his football career and a sign of what may be coming from Louisville's newest star wide receiver.

"The fans went crazy. Our family went crazy. My mom’s crying. His sister’s crying. His brother's going crazy," Greg Fitzpatrick said. "I just smiled to myself and thought, 'All is right in the universe right now.'"

Louisville's receiving unit was deep enough last season that the Cards could afford to redshirt Dez Fitzpatrick, an all-state receiver at Waterford (Mich.) Mott High.

It was frustrating for the former four-star prospect whose commitment video went viral on social media and made him an instant fan favorite at U of L. After totaling 60 catches for 1,350 yards and 25 touchdowns in 10 games as a high school senior, Fitzpatrick thought he could be an immediate impact player in college.

Watching the games from the sideline was a painful exercise.

"I remember just thinking, 'Gosh, I want to be out there so bad,'" Fitzpatrick said. "I just wanted the season to hurry up."

Dez and his dad speak every day, either by phone or text message, and last fall he would come back from games and tell his dad everything he saw.

He couldn't help but think he might have scored or caught passes in certain situations, and he definitely felt like he could get the better of some of the defensive backs Louisville faced.

"He'd say, 'I'm just counting the weeks,'" Greg Fitzpatrick said. "I told him to put his head down and work his butt off."

Co-offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway, who coaches receivers, noticed Fitzpatrick's progress through the fall and into the offseason, particularly with memorizing and digesting U of L's plays.

In the spring game, with top receiver Jaylen Smith held out because of an injury, Fitzpatrick caught nine passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns as Jackson's go-to guy.

"Coming in as a freshman, there is a lot put upon them," Galloway said. "There are a lot of details and techniques that change in the offense. He has gotten better at knowing what to do."

U of L coach Bobby Petrino noted Fitzpatrick also showed improvement as a blocking receiver. And it helped that he was on the same page with Jackson on Saturday, Petrino said.

Petrino ran through each of Fitzpatrick's catches, lauding him for his route-running and safe hands.

“I thought he did a really nice job," Petrino said.

Jackson concurred.

"He can get open. He has great hands," Jackson said. "Every catch was spectacular to me – awesome catches, great routes, great touchdown. He did great."

Before the touchdown, there was the first grab. Fitzpatrick's dad wasn't sure it would come, at least not after it looked like his son jumped offside early in the game.

"I saw Dez was one of the players who moved," Greg Fitzpatrick said. "I’m thinking, 'Holy crap, Dez jumped offside. I told him to contain himself.' He came out of the game, and I'm like, 'Oh, man, they may have snatched him.' But I knew he wouldn’t let anything faze him. I just said, 'OK, he’s about to get lathered up after this.'"

Then he did: Jackson to Fitzpatrick for 15 yards and a first down. Jackson rolled out of the pocket and Fitzpatrick's dad said he thought, "C'mon, get open, Dez. Scramble drill. Shake your guy."

Jackson threw "a rocket," both Fitzpatricks said.

"I remember thinking to myself, 'I am not dropping this ball,'" Dez Fitzpatrick said. "I just focused really hard. ... I had big eyes, and I just made sure I caught it."

Fitzpatrick got back to the locker room after the game and pulled out his cell phone. It was jam-packed with notifications: Text messages, social media comments, etc. Friends sent him videos of them freaking out while he was on television.

It was the perfect start. Now Fitzpatrick says he can get on with the business of playing a role for the 16th-ranked Cards.

"It was really just a relief," Fitzpatrick said, "knowing that everything I'd been working for since I was 6 years old in the backyard playing catch with my dad ... just happened."